Ormond Beach blaze 4th suspicious Volusia house fire this week

Friday

Aug 15, 2014 at 10:37 AMAug 16, 2014 at 4:53 PM

A million-dollar oceanfront house burned Friday and is the fourth suspicious fire in East Volusia this week, Ormond Beach officials said.The blaze that destroyed the vacant, 94-year-old house at 67 Ocean Shore Boulevard was deemed a suspected arson by the State Fire Marshal's office, city spokeswoman Loretta Moisio said.

By Lyda Longalyda.longa@news-jrnl.com

ORMOND BEACH — A million-dollar oceanfront house burned Friday and is the fourth suspicious fire in East Volusia this week, Ormond Beach officials said.The blaze that destroyed the vacant, 94-year-old house at 67 Ocean Shore Boulevard was deemed a suspected arson by the State Fire Marshal's office, city spokeswoman Loretta Moisio said. Heavy smoke billowed from the cream-colored, two-story structure just before 3 a.m., quickly followed by flames that erupted through the old house's roof and windows.Moisio said firefighters noticed some sparse furnishings inside the rambling structure, but it's not clear when someone last lived at the residence. Moisio said a caretaker lives on the property in a separate house. No one answered a knock on the door Friday afternoon.This is the fourth arson-related incident in Volusia County this week and the 30th in Central Florida since April, fire officials said.Daytona Beach firefighters battled three blazes they say were intentionally set early Wednesday at three houses on Lenox and Phoenix avenues in the city. Three fire departments, including Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach and Volusia County Fire Services, responded to the Ormond Beach inferno Friday, Moisio said. No one was injured.The rash of arsons in this region in the last four months has prompted the police and fire departments in Orlando to start a multiagency task force that includes investigators from both those agencies, as well as the State Fire Marshal, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Daytona Beach police, Sanford police and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.According to the city of Orlando's website, 16 suspicious fires occurred in the city since April, many of them in the downtown area. Sanford city officials also have reported 10 blazes since that time, while Daytona Beach's house fires all occurred Wednesday. Fire officials have said most of the infernos in Seminole and Orange counties have been sparked between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., and Thursday through Sunday. On Wednesday, state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who also serves as Florida's State Fire Marshal, announced the arrest of Sanford resident Curtis Smith on arson charges related to a recent mobile home fire in Sanford. Atwater also asked for the public's help in locating Smith's half-brother Steven Angle, who may have information on the 10 fires set in Sanford and the surrounding rural areas. Atwater said people providing information leading to a conviction in the Sanford fires could get an $11,000 reward. In Ormond Beach, Moisio said investigators with the Fire Marshal's office have posted a sign outside the structure stating the blaze is a suspected arson. Moisio did not know what accelerant was used to spark the fire.The house, built in 1920, is about 4,200 square feet with a value of over $1.3 million, Volusia County property records show. It is owned by David W. Crosby, who could not be reached.